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Monday, December 21, 2009

Well.. today has been bad and good. We went out yesterday afternoon to have a Christmas drink with my Father and we also ate out... lovely evening, lovely meal. However, when we got home we found that some ***** had broken into our house. According to our neighbours CCTV, he was only in the house for exactly 2 minutes and yet he managed to ransack most of the rooms and walk away with money and jewellery. Quite sick making and very upsetting indeed - it is one of the most awful thing to come home to.

Anyway, despite taking to my bed for most of the day (as is my usual habit when upset), I decided at about 4.00 pm to make use of the rest of the day and cut and wrapped the soaps I'd made on Saturday. I decided that soaping is therapeutic for the mind and soul and so, on to soaping!

Here are images and descriptions of the four soaps - the first are restocked favourites and one new one:

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Just a quick note about my post yesterday - it seems to have started other people's RAK's ... check out my friend Lois' blog here where she shows the lovely handcrafted products she's purchased for friends and family for Christmas - by doing this, she's raised the crafters/producers profiles and helped to advertise their incredible talents. Excellent work Lois, I'm just loving that!!! And thanks for the link back too!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

I have been thinking about this quite a lot in the past few days... on Sunday, my hubby and I did something nice for someone, I won't go into it and it doesn't really matter what but it was just nice. It made us feel good but not because we thought "aren't we great" but the thought of the smile on someone's face when a stranger says that something nice has happened made us feel happy.

Since then, I've been thinking more about the whole concept of a random act of kindness. Wikipedia defines a Random Act of Kindess as "... a selfless act performed by a person or persons wishing to either assist or cheer up an individual or in some cases an animal. There will generally be no reason other than to make people smile, or be happier. Either spontaneous or planned in advance, random acts of kindness are encouraged by various communities. An oft-cited example of a random act of kindness is, when paying the toll at a toll booth on a highway, to pay the toll for the vehicle behind you as well."

In these days of rampant consumerism, and especially around Christmas time, we get so caught up in the whole "me, me, me" thing. It can be depressing and can really drain you. I felt really good on Sunday - just because we made someone smile. That is a gift surely? A gift we can all give, every day. It doesn't have to be monetary.. it could be picking up something someone else has dropped, or saying to someone that they look really well today, or holding the door open for someone. It really just has to be a nice thing, a thing people would like - generally speaking, treating others as you'd like to be treated.

I don't normally make New Year's resolutions but I'm making one today - I would like to try and committ a Random Act of Kindness every day for a whole year. That's 365 RAK's ... well probably about 375 or so if I start tomorrow! But still, imagine if we all did that ... imagine if every single one of us just did one nice thing for oner person every day for the next year.

So, why not? Why not try it out? Would you like to join me? Leave a comment below and lets do it together! It'll be fun and it'll be easy and imagine how good people are going to feel afterwards? Even if it's something simple like when you're putting your groceries through the checkout, add in a bar of chocolate and then give it to the operator and say "that's for your break, I thought you might like it". When you're paying for your coffee, pay for the guy's beside you too. When you're taking a cab and it's raining, let the other person have the first one. Hold the door open, say good morning and smile, say thank you to everyone who helps you out.... it doesn't have to be a lot... but it could mean so much.

So... do you take my challenge? Are you going to committ an RAK A DAY?!!! Leave a comment below - join the Kindness Revolution!!!!!

David from Primary Position and Grainne from Local Discounts have set up a new blog for Irish online businesses - the idea is that the blog will track trackbacks from each business owners own blog and that way we'll create a network and introduce ourselves to each other and get talking but through blogs + twitter. The blog is here or http://ibopromote.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/hello-world/. Great idea guys!! I'm very happy to link you here, I think it's a wonderful networking opportunity.

Monday, December 14, 2009

On Saturday I got back to soaping (having missed it the previous week due to having to wait for materials to be delivered!).. and decided to restock two of our most popular soaps - My Sweet Love and Good as Gold. Both soaps are made with our trademark Goatsmilk & Glycerine soap with added Golden Jojoba Oil (an amazing oil that is almost identicial to your skin's own oils and so is wonderfully moisturising), and an added hydrating skin conditioner - just to make sure that your skin is as fabulous as it should be when you use our soaps! Both soaps are coloured using only the very best natural mica, I just adore using this material to colour soaps - it adds a wonderful depth to the colour and a fantastic glisten.

My Sweet Love, pictured on the left, is fragranced with a fresh, floral bouquet with fruity accents reminiscent of sweet raspberries based on a warm wood-musk foundation. This is a beautiful soap - quite a delicate fragrance that is both floral and fruity at the same time but excellently balanced because neither fragrance overrides the other.

Good as Gold is fragranced with a sweet, floral nectarine & juicy mandarin complimented by peach & plum on a creamy vanilla base - all beautifully glistening due to the natural golden mica. This fragrance is so fresh.. juicy almost! The goldenness (is that a word? It is now!) has to be seen to be believed!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Many many thanks to Jo at Product Body for her wonderfully generous mention of my Aqua Haven soap on her Soap Bar blog (which you can read here) - she's showing some great blue themed soaps from across the world in a post entitled "International Blues". My soap is featured alongside some other fantastic soaps (both CP by the looks of them) and mine is the only glycerine based soap featured (which is excellent as glycerine soaps don't always get the mentions they deserve). Thank you Jo, I really appreciate it! What a great mention, I'm really chuffed. I read Jo's blog all the time and I just love her interest and enthusisiam for soap.

Aqua Haven is currently out of stock at the moment (unfortunately) in the online store but I'm hoping it will be back by next week! So great timing too!

Friday, December 11, 2009

Sorry for no recent posts but I've been mega busy! We've been overrun with orders lately and I've been working evenings to get everything ready for customers. Our stock levels are quite low at the moment in the online store (http://www.soaperstar.com) but not to worry, I'm going to be making more fabulous handcrafted soaps on Saturday for adding to the store by Monday. So, if your particular favourite is out of stock at the moment, great apologies but please bear with us - the good thing is that Soaperstar, who are only 6 weeks in business at present, has proven hugely popular with many people this Christmas and I just love the idea that our products are going to delight someone on Christmas Day!!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

I just wanted to thank the lovely @MelanieDawn for her blog post mention of Soaperstar... so glad that she enjoyed the soaps and I really hope her Mother in Law loves them too! How exciting to think that something I made will be given to someone on Christmas Day, that's just fab!! Melanie and I met on Twitter and she's a really lovely person and I was delighted that I could help her out with Christmas shopping and especially for her Mum in law (who, I know from mine, can be rather difficult to shop for!). If you'd like to read the post, her blog can be found here.

Thanks Melanie! Remember, if you'd also like to purchase some Soaperstar soaps, please do not hesitate to check out our new online store - http://www.soaperstar.com/ - we'll be very happy to see you there!

Monday, November 30, 2009

Don't forget to check out my friend Lois' fab blog where you can win yourself a choice of incredible bracelets or a stunning pair of earrings!! Info on her blog which you can access here - closing date is midnight on 30 November so hurry, hurry, hurry!!!! If you adore her work, you can check our Beads and More by Lois on her fab website which you can access here - lovely lovely work and great for Christmas pressies!!! Check it out!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Ohhh Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat! Hmmm I don't like goose that much but I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas!!

So we've decided to offer our customers a special Christmas offer on our new online store http://www.soaperstar.com - if you buy 9 of our wonderfully skin hydrating goatsmilk & glycerine soaps, you'll receive a special mystery soap for free!!! The mystery is that you won't know what type you'll receive until you get your package in the post!

This offer is for our fabulous customers to say Merry Christmas to you all! It will remain in place until 24 December so make sure you order soon!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Soaperstar has been featured in the Winter edition of De-Stress Magazine, produced by Catherine Connors-Bevalot, a holistic and stress therapist based in Paris. In a true reflection of how important online networking can be, we met via Twitter and Catherine kindly offered me a spot in the Winter edition of her magazine. At the time of asking, I hadn't even opened the online store and the thought of being featured was scary but very exciting at the same time! Check us out on Page 6!!!

The magazine contains fantastic information about how to de-stress for Christmas and how to avoid those stressy pitfalls we've all experienced over the Christmas period. Check it out - great articles and tons of information suitable for everyone.

Monday, November 23, 2009

I wanted to do a post about a very excellent friend of mine, Lois Bartley, who runs Beads and More by Lois, a fabulous online jewellery store with the most lovely items. She just had her second baby, a little boy called Shay (cue the awwhhhhhhhhhhing and cooooooooooing!) and she's already back into the thick of her business! She's relaunching her store by doing a fantastic giveway on her blog - check her blog out here and check out her store here - you will NOT be disappointed believe me (and I know because my lovely hubby commissioned some incredible jewellery from her for my birthday and I'm also commissioning her to work on some Christmas presents I have planned for some very special family members - but don't tell!). I think my favourite item is her Rainbow Cluster Star Charm bracelet, check it out here with picture below.

Beads and More by Lois - one of the best online jewellery stores I have come across and one of the nicest people in the world!!! Check it out!!

We have restocked two of our customers favourite soaps! As with all handcrafted products, each time you make one, it's slightly different each time.. that's the beauty of them, you get a totally unique item every time!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Christmas is nearer than you think! 1 month and 1 week away! So, if you'd like to treat yourself and friends or family to some handcrafted soap made in Ireland, don't forget to check out Soaperstar's new online store at http://www.soaperstar.com/ - you will find all our fantastic range to purchase right there!

So don't leave it til the last minute, check out the store and buy your favourite soaps - all sent from Ireland direct to your door!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

We've just come back from London on a short trip which was over the weekend, which, as regular readers will know, is my soaping time! So now I'm itching to get back into it and just wondering what type I should make next? And I'm thinking that I need to do some restocking.. so what about making some more Chunky Choc Delite, and some Twilight Haze too? And I really need to work on that soap for men ... I've been asked to think about a scrubby element in that ... hmmm I need to think about that, what would be best I wonder?

So it's restocking time for Soaperstar - which is great because it shows just how popular those soaps have been!

Now the interesting thing will be if I can make them so that they look just like this again! That's the great thing with handcrafted items, one piece never looks the same as the next so you know that you are truly buying a special item!

Monday, November 9, 2009

I spent my Saturday creating! And made two new Soaperstar soaps - both are wonderfully fragranced and have added Apricot Kernel Oil and an additional skin hydrating factor.

Firstly we have Festive Orange Spice - a beautiful blend of goatsmilk and glycerine soap, swirled with lots of glittering mica, wonderfully luxurious with added Apricot Kernel Oil and an extra skin hydrating factor and fragranced with a strong, dark, deep and spicy blend of orange and cinnamon - this just totally smells of Christmas to me!!

I also made Passionate Purple - this is a blend of goatsmilk & glycerine soap, deeply coloured with natural glittering mica and wonderfully fragranced with a deep, sensual and exotic passionflower fragrance - wonderfully perfumed, this scent will linger gently on the skin after your bath or shower so no need for an extra perfume (saving you money!).

Both soaps are now available to buy online - check out the Soaperstar Online Store for details!!! These are newly added today and are only available for a short time only (we specialise in small batches limited edition soaps!).

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Soaperstar are delighted to note that the press release for the opening of our new online store has been featured on the European Directory of Soap & Cosmetics Makers - check it out here http://www.soapmakers.eu/press_release.php?press_release=13. All our soaps are now available online to buy - we stock small amounts as each batch is lovingly handcrafted so make sure to place your order soon!!

So, if you love someone enough to give them a handcrafted luxury soap or you feel the need to treat yourself (after all, it is Saturday after a long week), check us out at http://www.soaperstar.com/ - we'll be very happy to see you there!

Sorry I've not been here posting too much lately, getting the website up and working has been a huge job!!! And I've so missed soaping but I went mad at the weekend and made three new Soaperstar soaps....

And, finally, Raspberry Blonde, a goatsmilk & glycerine soap with added Apricot Kernel Oil, an additional skin hydrating factor and wonderfully fragranced with a delicious sweet tart creamy blend of juicy raspberries on a base of creamy vanilla... mouthwatering!! This also has a wonderful glittering mica added (you can see it on the top of these soaps, it gives a lovely glisten to the soaps).

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Well, it's be a long road but I'm so happy to announce that the Soaperstar online store will be opening officially tomorrow, Sunday 1 November!!!

I'm so excited and so nervous and I'm SO hoping that everyone likes it! It's very much a fledgling business at the moment and I know I have work to do to build up stock - so much time seems to have gone into building the actual site up til now. Added to that, we've had family visitors over for the last two weeks almost and so my time has been very tight in getting this all up and running so bear with me if the store seems somewhat sparse at the moment.

I have to admit I'm really nervous about it all - I'm just hoping that everyone likes what I've put up and that it all goes really smoothly. I'm sure I'll get into my groove very soon with it though!!! And I am so missing soapmaking at the moment that I just need that "soapy me" time to create ... such a brilliant stress reliever!

I really adore the colour bands in this soap - the dark is made with lots of wonderful natural mica (a natural mineral that glistens - your own eyeshadow will be predominantly made with it). I actually love this soap even more than the original one! However, not sure I could reproduce this look again... but I can try!!!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Hi all... well my new stainless steel cutter arrived from the US! Yay! With two new blades, a smooth one for clean cuts and a crinkle blade which creates a lovely wave on the surface of the soap. These were made about 10 days ago and have been sitting in their cosy little homes waiting for the cutter to arrive. Hubby and I decided to cut them tonight and take pics using the new photobox he made me.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

I have spent the whole day working on my new website .. I have never done anything like it before and decided to go for one of those "off the shelf" types that you can than customise yourself. I wanted to be able to make something that I can manage and control myself and not just hand it over to someone else who does everything and then hands it back - I'd never learn a thing that way! So I decided to jump in with both feet and do it myself... so far it's been good fun and I even worked out how to make my own banner. Ok, you might be saying that everyone in the world and their cat might know how to do that already but I didn't so I'm chuffed with myself!

To be honest, I never knew there was so much work in setting up a site - and it's not so much the visuals but coming up with the actual content. I know what I want to say and what my mission is but putting it into words is a whole other ballgame. So I'm putting it all down in plain English right now and will go back and re-read and re-edit until it says what I want it to say. Thankfully, my products really lend themselves to some great visuals so I can count on that .. just needs to words to back it all up.

I worked all day on it and decided to stop around 6.00 pm - I realised then that I hadn't taken a break at all, for most of the day. Honestly, you'd think soaping was a nice easy little hobby wouldn't you?! No matter though, I'm really enjoying it and finding I really like the graphic side of things - something I didn't know about myself at all.

I'm hoping to be open for 1 November if I can make it and will be blogging about my adventures to get to that point.. and after no doubt! Keep an eye out for our new website!!!

Hi everyone!! I have to say sorry for not posting here lately .. I've been so busy in work at the moment that it seems to have taken over my head!! I have been busy soaping but no pictures for you (booo... hisss!!!) because I've had some major issues with my lovely cutter. That is to say, the cutter guide itself is fine but my blade decided to go complete wonky!! It started to bend and warp, giving me the oddest shaped soap bars! I can tell you that I was NOT a happy bunny at all. I will admit that I cried over them. I spend so much time designing and creating my soaps and I adore every single one of them that it upsets me if something goes wrong with them. So, when I've spent a lot of time and energy designing, creating and making soaps that I want you all to love as much as I do, you can see why I'd cry tears when, at the very last stage, it all goes mad!

So, I decided, instead of crying my eyes out like a big girl's blouse (I heard you saying it, don't deny it LOL), to fix the problem. So I've ordered a new stainless steel cutter box with two stainless steel cutting blades - one straight smooth cutter, and one crinkle cutter. I decided to go with a company that sells equipment specifically made for the soaper - both professional and home crafter. I dealt with the lovely Brandy at http://www.soapequipment.com/ and just received an email to say that my equipment is on the way. So now my two new lovely soaps which are cosy in their soapy mould homes are waiting for their new cutters to arrive. I am dying to open them up but I don't want more tears and tantrums (I didn't mention the tantrum you say? .. ooops must have forgotten that!) so I decided they can wait. Dying to show you the pics and dying to get my equipment - so, as soon as it arrives, believe me that I'll be posting you pictures... I'm having withdrawal symptoms!!!

Sorry to have been so tardy in posting pics but photos of nice soaps are much nicer than wonky bars!!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Yesterday I decided to make two new Soaperstar soaps and here they are! The one pictured on the left is a modern, understated style soap and is called Twilight Haze. It is made with a two clear SLS free soaps (which are not crystal clear); one coloured with two different types of dark purple/red mica (a naturally occuring mineral used for cosmetic purposes) which produced the darker purple colour - the other soap was a light purple colour and the final soap in the blend is goatsmilk which adds a high degree of moisturisation for your skin. It is fragranced with a unisex fragrance blend of pomegranates, raspberries, plums & pink peppercorns on a base of frankincense, patchouli & dark spicy woods - dark, spicy and wonderfully fragrant which was designed as a unisex soap.

The soap pictured on the right is our Good as Gold soap and is a fabulous blend again of two clear soaps - one coloured orange and one coloured yellow but with two different gold micas added giving a fabulous golden hue, the final soap is a goatsmilk base which is so moisturisig to your skin (gentle enough for use on your face). This is fragranced with a blend of sweet floral nectarines & juicy mandarins complimented by peach & plum on a creamy vanilla base - and I am not kidding you, it is AMAZING! I just love it, so fragrant and, if a smell can be juicy, it's juicyyyyyyy!!

Both soaps lather fantastically well and, with the added Apricot Kernel Oil and added moisturising factors, they really are a luxury treat for your skin. So, if you like the modern, understated elegance of our Twilight Haze Soap or the bright, glittering juicyness of our Good as Gold soap, you will not lose out! Both of these soaps will be sold via our new online soap which I hope to open in the next few weeks!

As ever, if you like these soaps, please feel free to leave me a comment - I really hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

I have been working on designing my labels for my soaps - I wanted something simple but effective, that would carry through a whole range of products where you could recognise the name as it carries through, but allows the differences in the products to stand out and that were an indication of what my products are about (colour, fun, style, quality). So I'm introducing my latest soap with it's new packaging and label - I'd be very happy to hear what you think of these (as you know, I love feedback!).

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Today I decided to go right to the heart of things.. and by that I mean, something that I love with all my heart which is... chocolate!! I mean, who doesn't love chocolate??!! This is my chocolate soap wonderfully fragranced with a sweet heady chocolate fragrance oil and, keeping with the whole chocolate theme, I've added cocoa powder mixed with cocoa butter! It smells incredible!!! This will definitely be part of our new Soaperstar range! Online shop opening soon!

If you like this, please feel free to leave me a message! Remember you can leave me your email address and I will contact you with updates regarding the opening of our new store.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Given I've been teasing you for a few weeks with pictures of some of our new range of soaps, I thought it might be a great idea to set up a list for those people who read here who would be interested in being contacted when the new Soaperstar Store opens for business. We hope to open in the approximately 6 - 8 weeks and I'd be more than happy to contact you about the store and our products. So, if you'd like to be added to our customer waiting/contact list, please leave me a comment with your full name and email address and I'll be in touch! Thanks!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Elizabeth from Gracefruit has launched her newest project, The European Directory of Soap and Cosmetic Makers. The directory offers an opportunity for makers of soaps and all cosmetic produts to meet with clients and for clients to be able to find artisan producers in their own countries. It isn't specifically just for soap and cosmetic products but includes candles, home fragrancing, hair care and all bath & body products. She hopes to make it the premier point for sellers and buyers.

I have signed up as a member of the directory and you will be able to find my details there. As soon as our shop is set up, I'll be linking it on the site.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Well, this week I promised myself I'd have all my paperwork finished - however, that was easier said than done! EU legislation is rigorous around the whole area of cosmetic labelling - given soap is considered a cosmetic, everything I produce must meet the regulations. I totally agree with this of course, I want my customers to be very aware of what they are purchasing (I am planning an ingredients information page on my site, when I get it set up and running) - it's so important that people are aware of what they are putting ON their bodies as much as they are now becoming so aware of what they are putting IN their bodies. All my soaps will be vegetarian friendly, not tested on animals (unless you consider my husband an animal that is!) and all will have added oils or butters and an extra moisturising factor in order to be as skin friendly (skin loving, skin adoring, all about the skin!) as possible. You can rest assured that if I don't use it, you won't be - you won't be able to even buy it because I certainly wouldn't be selling anything to anyone that I wouldn't use myself on a daily basis. So correct (and legal) labelling is really vital to us and to our customers.

However, saying all that, in order to label fully, there is a huge amount of work to do in order to make sure you're doing it the right way. Firstly you have to carefully list your formula, including all additions. Each ingredient has an special INCI name - INCI means International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients - which lists all products with either it's Latin or scientific name. For instance, instead of thinking manufacturers are really snobs because they write Water as Aqua, they are, in fact, legally obligied to do so.

So, once you've written up your formula, then you must work out the percentages of each ingredient, then list the INCI name for each one. Once you've done all that, then you know what is in your product, at what percentages and their correct legal name. Only then can you list your ingredients, highest percentage ingredient on down (just like for food labelling).

For every ingredient, you must also keep on file a Material Safety Data Sheet and show your calculations for any allergens that may be present in your product. When I say allergens, I mean some substances in some fragrances (including both fragrance and essential oils) that occur within those fragrances - you may have seen something like Linalool or Limonene listed, these are the potential allergens. Now, the reality is that they are in such a tiny, infintesimal amounts that few people would ever have a reaction (for instance, I have very sensitive skin and have never had a problem with them). However, again, where people want to know this information, it is vital for us to be able to provide it to them.

So you can see just how much work goes into preparing all the legal information required to protect our customers - all hugely important to us but it all takes time.

The great thing is that, once I have a final listing of ingredients, I get to design my labels which is really great fun! And today I have managed to finalise my design and I'm really happy with it - it's the right size and shape and colour(s) and I really really love them. So, even if the paperwork is a big workload, though utterly necessary, I do get to make lovely things from them so I'm happy!!!

Keep watching this space as I hope to post pics of a new soap tomorrow. Oh, and remember, it's Friday night!!! Yay!!!!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Today is my birthday and I celebrated by having a half day from work, and then spending the afternoon (after a nice lunch courtesy of my lovely hubby!), making new body butters/creams. The cream on the top is made with Coconut Oil, Mango Butter and Walnut Oil (an oil particularly good for dry and sensitive skin) and is scented with Pomegranite Noir - a sexy blend of pomegranates, raspberries, plums and pink peppercorns, with frankincense, patchouli and spicy dark woods. The cream on the left looks rather a murky brown but is, in fact, a lovely pale green (not sure what happened to the colour in the picture!) - this is because it's made from Unrefined Avocado Oil (the darkest green oil you'll ever see), Avocado Butter and Shea Butter and is fragranced with Patchouli, Sandalwood and Jasmine fragrance oil (reminiscent of hippy days!) and, finally, the cream on the left is made from Shea Butter, Coconut Oil and Babassu Oil (particularly excellent for dry and sensitive skin) and is scented with Amber Lavendar fragrance oil - really beautiful.

Each of the creams has an added moisturising factor called Lamesoft which is an Ecocert registered ‘green’ biolipid derived from 100% natural and renewable materials. It is a mild and gentle additive that is designed to increase skin moisturisation; of course, they all contain the recommended level of preservative to ensure that the creams are fully beneficial to the skin and no baddies survive to do anything horrid!!

My house smells so good right now and my skin is going to lap all these wonderful ingredients!!! A very nice birthday present to myself!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

When hubby and I were on holiday in West Cork, we spent a LOT of time by the sea, many days just sitting and staring out, watching the crashing waves and milky foam. We adore the sea and I vowed to make a marine themed soap. And so I introduce a taste of the first of our Soaperstar range ... this wonderfully fragranced soap is made with a heady marine fragrance rich with hints of dark greenery, light citrus and sea salt, all made to capture the natural scents and smells of the ocean. I also added Golden Jojoba Oil and an additional moisturising agent to ensure that your skin is treated to the very best of ingredients! Soaperstar creates an evocative interpretation of the sea in their luxury handcrafted soap! Please feel free to leave a comment if you love the soap.